98 Contributions to the OrnitTiology of India, ^c. 



coming on quicker than they can walk, they rise and fly, or if 

 you stand up in the boat or make any sudden noise, they will 

 equally take the wing-; but if you drift quietly down on them, 

 they will let you come within twenty or thirty yards with- 

 out quitting- the bank. The first gun fired, the din that rises 

 from a flock of 300 or 400, (and that I fired into this evening, 

 I carefully counted and estimated, glass in hand, as we ap- 

 proached, to contain fully double the latter number,) is incredi- 

 ble ; their cries mingled with the flappings of their wings, render 

 it impossible to make one^s-self heard for a brief space until they 

 get well on the wing. Then they will circle round and round 

 over head whilst the dead are being picked up, and the winged, 

 which always take the water, swim well, and dive fairly, are 

 being hunted down, uttering the most clamorous cries, not unfre- 

 quently returning within shot. 



In a j heel (or large pond) a man who knows what he is about, 

 by moving backwards and forwards slowly, can walk a flock of 

 Anser cinereus before him up to aiiy point he pleases, where 

 some hidden comrade awaits their advent. The Indian goose, 

 A. indicus, is not so tame. As a rule, I think the latter bird 

 prefers rivers, the former swamps and lakes, though you will 

 generally find some of both species, both in rivers and lakes. No 

 one who has not shot a good deal in the rivers of Upper India 

 can realize the myriads of geese that yearly visit us : those seen 

 in swamps form but a small proportion of the total, and are 

 chiefly A. cinereus. This latter goes far north to breed, but 

 wounded and captured birds, that I have kept and tamed, have 

 laid eggs freely, though these never hatched. A. indicus, on the 

 other hand, breeds in the Tso Mourari, and other Thibetan lakes, 

 and does not, so far as I know, cross the Koen Luen ; but they 

 are far more difficult to tame ; and in fact I have never known 

 of one being kept through the hot season in captivity, whereas 

 the grey lag tames at once and lives for years in the poultry 

 yard, apparently suffering little from the heat. 



'^Ith. — The little Alaudnla Adamsi on the banks as usual. 

 Soon after starting, saw three birds on a sandbank in the river 

 which looked like grey lag geese, but seemed too small. Worked 

 the boat up carefully to within fifty yards ; as they were rising, 

 knocked down two with the right barrel. No. 3 loose, and the 

 third with a No. 2 green cartridge. Before I could load again, one 

 of the first two flapped away, and rose heavily, flying away about 

 half a mile, where it appeared to sink into a bare field, and Jay 

 with its wings outspread and head down. I thought it was 

 dead — sent a boatman to pick it up ; he got within a few yards of 

 it when it rose and flew away out of sight. Marked the direc- 



